The Bottle & Fresh Horses

The Bottle & Fresh Horses
Studio album by The Refreshments
Released	September 16, 1997
Genre	Heartland rock [1]
Length	51:53
Label	Mercury [2]
Producer	Paul Leary
The Refreshments chronology
Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy (1996) The Bottle & Fresh Horses (1997)
Singles from The Bottle & Fresh Horses
"Good Year" Released: 1997 "Wanted" Released: 1998

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

The Bottle & Fresh Horses is the second and final album by the alternative rock band the Refreshments, released in 1997. ^{[3] [4]}

Production

The album was produced by Paul Leary. ^[5]

Critical reception

The Washington Post thought that "new songs as 'Buy American' and 'Fonder and Blonder' aren't quite so droll as the material on last year's Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy, but they do have an appealing good humor that complements their exuberant melodies." ^[6] Trouser Press concluded that "'Heaven or the Highway Out of Town' and 'Good Year' are peppy little numbers, but it might as well be .38 Special playing them." ^[7]

Billboard wrote that "the band's comic slant takes a back seat to its highly underrated songwriting." ^[8] The San Antonio Express-News determined that "the music is carefully crafted, but it's also deadly serious—not to mention more country-and heartland-rock oriented." ^[9]

AllMusic called the album "one of the best forgotten gems of its time," writing that "the group dreamed up an earnest, dustier sound, blending heartland rock & roll with elements of country and power-pop." ^[1]

Track listing

All songs written by Roger Clyne and Paul "P.H." Naffah except where noted:

1. "Tributary Otis" – 4:55
2. "Preacher's Daughter" – 3:22
3. "Wanted" – 3:34
4. "Sin Nombre" – 5:27
5. "Heaven or the Highway Out of Town" – 3:26 (Blush)
6. "Buy American" – 4:01
7. "Dolly" – 3:41
8. "Good Year" – 3:15 (Blush)
9. "Fonder and Blonder" – 4:07
10. "Birds Sing" – 3:18 (Edwards)
11. "Horses" – 4:19
12. "Broken Record" – 3:42
13. "Una Soda" – 4:46

References

1. "The Bottle & Fresh Horses – The Refreshments". AllMusic.
2. "Refreshments In Sold-Out Show At Outback's; Yeah, That Seems Fair". The Spokesman-Review. October 17, 1997.
3. "The Refreshments Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
4. Reavy, Pat (August 30, 2012). "RCPM to revisit Refreshments' "forgotten gem" this weekend". Deseret News.
5. Thompson, Dave (November 12, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN   978-0-87930-607-6 – via Google Books.
6. "THE REFRESHMENTS 'THE BOTTLE AND FRESH HORSES' MERCURY". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
7. "Refreshments". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
8. Borzillo, Carrie (August 16, 1997). "Refreshments not 'Fizzy' anymore". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 33. p. 13.
9. Johnson, Robert (November 14, 1997). "Refreshments get ... serious?". San Antonio Express-News. p. 13H.